Cherry-Chocolate Cheesecake

Every now and then I go through a week of detoxing. This week is one of them. For me, detoxing simply means no alcohol during the week. This sounds simple but habits are difficult to break and i REALLY like my after work wine. Plus, the first presidential candidate debate was on last night…if that doesn’t call for a deep glass of red then I don’t know what does. I fought through the cold sweats (kidding.. ((or am I))), and had hummus and Everything pretzel chips instead. Now, I’m on to day two which is when I start to rationalize with myself “You’re going to have kids one day and then you won’t have the opportunity for that after work glass” or even better “studies show one glass of red a day can reduce heart disease”. While the latter appears to have some science backing it; I am not in a position in my life where heart disease plays any sort of role in the body I wear around on a regular basis. That being said….science.**deep thoughts**

So now that you just learned I’m a borderline alcoholic, let’s talk about one of my other weaknesses (I have many), cheesecake! Today we are discussing this Cherry-Chocolate Cheesecake! The familiar creamy dreaminess we all know and love sweetened with dates and loaded with Vitamin C, fiber, and even protein! The chocolate pretzel crust pairs perfectly with the light yet rich cheesecake filling that is nicely balanced between blended cashews and coconut cream. The cherry chunks swirl delightfully into the mix and the freshly grated chocolate on top brings out the chocolate pretzel crust to give an end result of one delicious cheesecake-if I do say so myself.

Oh yes, you realize this makes it alright to eat cheesecake for breakfast, right? I have a tendency to do that with my cheesecakes and pies, as you can see here and here. I just really enjoy waking up and knowing my breakfast is 1) already made 2) healthy and 3) a DESSERT and 4) goes well with my morning cup of joe!

I plan on making some mini Cherry-Chocolate Cheesecakes next week. I’ll be sure to snap a pic and share it with you guys on my instagram and twitter! Please share with me if you make these too-@peppers_peaches and use my hashtag #peppersandpeaches so I don’t miss out on your post! Oh, and last but certainly not least-HAPPY FALL Y’ALL!

I'd like to start off by saying the crust recipe makes a small amount as my pie pan is small, so you may want double it. You also may need to adjust the filling measurements as well if you have a larger pie pan, either double or add a slight bit more of each ingredient (this recipe is forgiving)

Place your pretzels in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Remove and set aside.

Add ¾ of medjool dates and pulse, scraping down the sides, until starts to make a date butter. This does not have to be perfect. Once the dates are broken down add the pretzels and cocoa powder and pulse until combined. Press crust mixture into bottom of greased pie pan until evenly pressed.

Next, combine all the cheesecake filling ingredient EXCEPT CHERRIES into a Vitamix or other high powered blender and blend until perfectly smooth.

In the food processor, add the frozen cherries and pulse until they are chunky but broken apart.

Fold the cherry mixture into the rest of the cheesecake mixture and pour into the pie pan.